Road Safety Awareness Campaign

Road safety is one of the issues that is given serious attention by the Ministry of Communications. Statistics provided by the Centre for Transport Research of Universiti Teknologi Brunei recorded a 5 percent increase in road accidents which is 3 thousand 5 hundred and 52 cases last year, compared to 3 thousand 3 hundred 75 cases in 2016. According to the Minister of Communications, the consistent increase can been seen since 2015. The matter was explained by Yang Berhormat Awang Abdul Mutalib bin Pehin Orang Kaya Seri Setia Dato Paduka Haji Mohammad Yusof during the Road Safety Awareness Campaign 2018 yesterday morning. Yang Berhormat also stated that 29 fatalities from road accidents were recorded last year, compared to 17 fatalities the previous year, which is a 71 percent increase.

According to Yang Berhormat, the study has shown that the number of fatalities in 2017 comprised of youths aged between 19 to 38 years old. From the 29 road fatalities, 7 comprised of vulnerable road users such as cyclists, joggers and pedestrians. Since 2015, accidents that involve injuries have also increased. In 2017 alone, the number of injuries increased by nearly 20 percent to 529 -- up from 473 in 2016. In this regard, Yang Berhormat said that the Ministry of Communications has started to take strategic and holistic measures through the Whole of Nation approach, which focuses more on strategic collaborations with the private sector, volunteers and non-government organisations.

The Minister of Communications also stressed two important matters that need to be given serious attention and action by the relevant parties. Firstly is the importance for the Land Transport Department and driving schools to review the effectiveness of their training syllabus for motorcyclists. Yang Berhormat said that this matter needs to be prioritised together with continued awareness campaigns in view of the road fatalities involving motorcyclists recently. Secondly is the importance of Defensive Driving trainings to help reduce risks of road accidents.

"Safe Drive, Save Lives", is the theme of this year's Road Safety Awareness Campaign which is conducted by Syarikat Megamas Training Sendirian Berhad. The campaign was filled with a motivational talk by Peter Hodgso, a road safety consultant from the United Kingdom. In his talk, he explained the importance of road safety education for road users and reminded them not to use mobile phones while driving.